


Wedding Planner

by theproletariatdontdeservecake



Category: Magic: The Gathering
Genre: AU where they fixed Liliana's problems and the Gatewatch stayed together. yay, Banter is sexy, F/M, Jace has too many cloaks, Lili really hates angels, Lili's always going to be kind of a bitch even when she doesnt mean it, No sexytime here, Ravnica, Sometimes I feel bad for Jace but sometimes he's asking for it., Weddings, gatewatch
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-13
Updated: 2018-05-13
Packaged: 2019-05-06 04:47:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14634432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theproletariatdontdeservecake/pseuds/theproletariatdontdeservecake
Summary: The Gatewatch is hired for a job that's beneath them: to provide security for an Orzhov wedding. Jace and Liliana go at each other while they plan the assignment because I think competition between a couple is sexy. To (almost) everyone's amusement, their back and forth goes a little too far.





	Wedding Planner

 “Jace Beleren. Mind mage. Guildpact. Wedding planner.” Chandra teased.

Jace sighed, exasperated, and dropped the contract he was reading onto a wealth of other papers scattered across the table. “We’re not planning a _wedding_ ; we’re planning for the security of one. At least, we will be if I can get through this mess.” His table was a muddle of dossiers and reports. “The bride comes from a powerful Orzhov family. They have _so many guests_ , nearly all of whom are potential threats. _Everyone_ needs to be vetted. There is _so. much. to read._ ”

Chandra yawned and stretched out.“You know, when I promised to keep watch, I didn’t realize I was signing up to watch a literal gate.” 

Damn it. Jace stifled a yawn of his own. She wasn’t wrong. The Gatewatch had been formed to keep the multiverse safe from its bigger problems, not provide event security… but very little had come up and the months had been excruciatingly slow. He supposed he should be glad that the multiverse seemed to be short of planar-level threats but, with so little to do, his friends had taken to exploring Ravnica, getting into little adventures of their own, and making Jace’s life as Guildpact difficult.

Jace massaged his temples. “Look, I know this isn’t what we pictured, but it’s something. Orzhova is willing to give us an extremely generous stipend, with a larger bonus once we’ve finished the mission. That money will…”

“Yes, yes, we know,” Liliana interrupted him. “Buy food for the hungry, shelter for the homeless, and cloaks for the Guildpact.”

He scowled at her but made a mental note to add variety to his wardrobe—he did have an awful lot of cloaks—maybe a cape. That wasn’t technically a cloak, was it?

Liliana had lightened up considerably since she’d gotten out of her contracts. Maybe it was the wholeness of a soul free from demonic influence or maybe it was having someone like him in her life—someone this devoted to putting up with her—but she was definitely happier. Everyone could feel it, even if they’d never actually bring it up. It made her easier to be around, which in turn, made it easier for all of them to actually be friends.

It hadn’t affected the teasing, or the joy she took in giving people (especially him) grief. In those fields, she was as infuriating as she’d ever been.

Liliana walked up behind Jace’s seat and leaned on him, resting her chin on her hands, which she folded on his head. Jace shrunk under the weight and scowled.

“Your love and friendship have helped us become who we are. We invite you to share our joy and support our love, as we exchange vows…” Liliana read the wedding invitation over his head.

“This is so _aww-shucks_ , I think I’m going to be sick,” she said.

 “Give him a break, Liliana. Maybe Jace just likes weddings?”

Jace scowled again. Even Gideon was making fun of him now.

“Must you all be in here while I’m trying to work?” he complained.

“We’re sorry, we’re sorry, we’ll go,” Chandra laughed. “Come on, Gids. I found some warrior monks I think you’ll get along with. They’re training in the First District.”

They got up to leave.

“You too, Lili,” Jace said, as he ducked under her. Liliana pulled herself upright, scoffed, and put on her best hurt face. Then when he didn't react, she harrumphed, threw her head back and moved to join their friends.

Drama queen.

He went back to his mess of notes and papers.

“Hey Lili,” Chandra asked. “When you get married, you gonna hire me and Gids to do security too?”

Jace scoffed. “Like Liliana would ever agree to a wedding.”

“Wouldn’t I, though?”

Jace looked up. He furrowed his brow, caught off guard. It felt like a trap—the kind that would end with Liliana making him a punchline yet again.

It was always a game with Liliana. There were no written rules but when you lost, you knew it. She had a knack for making sure of that. He hated losing—and losing to her at _mind games_? That was just adding insult to injury.

_Alright, I’ll play._

“ _You_ want a wedding?” he asked.

“Well, not now, but someday, maybe.” She shrugged.

_Wait, was she serious?_

“I grew up a noble in the court of Vess. As soon as they decided I was old enough, life stopped being about fun and games and turned into learning to stitch and curtsy and sit up straight and laugh demurely. That’s about all the women in my family were good for until they got married off and taught their daughters to do the same.”

“There was exactly one day in our lives where everything was about us—one day where we had all the power, where we made all the decisions—one day when we were the most important thing in our own lives.”

“Every unmarried woman in court looked forward to that day and every married woman remembered it for the rest of her life. Obviously, I don’t live that way anymore but, at that point in my life, even I looked forward to that day… I guess it’s just something that’s always stayed with me.”

Jace’s expression softened. “I thought… I didn’t mean…”

He sighed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know that.”

"I don't wave it around," Liliana said. And with that, she left the room, walking past a surprised-looking Chandra and Gideon on the way out.

 

* * *

 

 Liliana fumed as she walked down the corridor. She'd had a whole other yarn to spin with the wedding thing but Jace had just looked so apologetic and earnest that she couldn't bring herself to.

There was a time that look wouldn’t have stopped her. He was definitely making her soft.

The thought annoyed her.

_Well played, cloak boy._

* * *

 

Jace found her later that evening, sitting on the sill of one of the large windows that overlooked the city. Her hair and skirts rustled slightly in the wind.

“Hey, Lili.”

She turned to look at him over a bare shoulder, smiled a little, and tucked her legs in to make space beside her.

He walked up to the sill, leaned forward against it, and stared out at the city.

“I was thinking about what you said earlier, about a wedding…”

_Are we still on that?_

“I’m not saying that we’re going to end up married. Or that we even should. Gods know we’re as far away from that as we could be. But I wanted to tell you that if we ever did, I’d want one too. Even more so now that I know that’s how you feel about them.”

Ballsy. Jace was trying to beat her at her own game.

“Really?” she asked, doe-eyed. She timed her response so the wind was slightly blowing her hair across her face as she said it.

Liliana was good at games and she always played to win.

“Yeah.” He smiled, warming to the topic. Liliana could hear the excitement creeping into his voice. “In fact, I actually thought about it once. A long time ago. I didn’t mean anything by it—I guess I was bored and I guess I just started thinking. Obviously, at the time, I didn’t know how you felt about weddings. I mean… of course the bride makes all the important decisions.”

_Wait, was he serious?_

“If we did, I suppose it would have to be in the style of your people,” he continued. “I don’t really remember my people, much less what their ceremonies would be like.” His laugh was self-deprecating. “I mean, I’ve done some research on Benalish weddings but I couldn’t find anything specific to Vess…”

Oh dear, he’d actually given this serious thought, bless his naïve heart.

“…so I meant to ask you…again, purely out of curiosity, if weddings in Vess had any specific differences from the rest of the Benalia?”

She indulged him. “A wedding in Vess includes a promise that the couple will share equally in everything—wealth, suffering, even friends and family—and that includes their wedding guests. That means the couple needs to invite an even number of people.” That part, at least, was true.

He looked thoughtful. “Hmm… Sounds easy enough. It would probably just be our friends, I suppose. Unless I miraculously remember my family… and they happen to be alive… So Gideon, Chandra, Nissa, Emmara, Ajani, maybe Tamiyo…That’s an even six…Did I miss anyone? I suppose I could invite Lavinia if our numbers add up odd, although getting her to leave her post might be difficult.”

His secretary? This was getting out of hand.

Liliana clasped her hands together and turned up the enthusiasm, hoping he’d pick up on it. “I can raise my brother and my parents! That’s three! And we don’t have to invite Lavinia, I can always raise my grandmother too!”

 “That’s a little morbid…” he frowned.

That should do it.

“…but with a strong enough glamour, I think we could make it work.”

_Wow._

“And we can have angels carry my bridal train as I walk down the aisle?”

She hoped it sounded as ridiculous as it felt to say it.

“What?” He turned to face her, confused. “I thought you hated…oh.”

The change in Jace’s expression as the realization hit him was priceless.

From somewhere to the left, Chandra burst out laughing. She and Gideon were seated in the next sill over, just out of sight. The sound echoed through the hall. Gideon was laughing too.

“You don’t really want a wedding, do you,” Jace said. His mouth was a line.

Liliana just stared at him with amused pity.

“Was any of the stuff about your childhood true, at least?”

She looked at him with an incredulous smile on her face. “Really, Jace. You’re sweet.” She got up and kissed him on the cheek. A consolation prize. Thanks for playing, better luck next time. “But you’re an idiot, sometimes.”

She walked away smiling, still shaking her head.

 

* * *

 

 Jace stared out into the city. His ears were burning. His face was burning.

He closed his eyes, breathed deep, and tried to clear his thoughts. By the time he opened them again, most of the lights in the city had gone dark. He’d lost track of time. He vaguely remembered hearing Gideon and Chandra leaving at some point, saying something about Izzet air races.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a leathered bundle of papers, leafing through them until he found a slip of parchment with a faded Orzhov insignia on top.    

It was a receipt, dated more than four years ago, from a shop that once stood on one of Tin Street’s countless alleyways. It detailed a downpayment for an amount that was, at the time, practically everything he’d had. It had been a mistake—the impulse of a foolish young man who’d thought that nothing else mattered—he didn’t know why he’d held on to it; he’d never even made enough to pay the jeweler the balance.

 _Really, Jace._ Her voice echoed in his mind.

He flicked it into the night and watched the wind carry it away.

**Author's Note:**

> The individual members of the Gatewatch all have something of their own on their plate. But what if they didn't? What if Liliana freed herself from her contracts and Chandra got her family problems on Kaladesh straightened out? Gideon would probably continue trying to keep the peace in one form or another and Jace can't actually stop being the Guildpact but, all-in-all, if the Gatewatch only ever had to worry about Gatewatch-related stuff, they'd run out of things to do pretty quickly.
> 
> And maybe then they'd actually have the time to sort out the sticky feelings they seem to keep developing for each other and Jace and Liliana could actually be a couple instead of reminiscing about the time they were, all those years ago.
> 
> Wrote this story (and a few loosely related ones) quite a while back. I think that if you make the right assumptions, it still holds up fairly well.


End file.
